No single agency keeps a record of the number of people withdrawing funds to buy first homes, but real estate agents and mortgage brokers spoken to by the Otago Daily Times said they had noticed a surge in KiwiSaver buyers in the past six months.
Housing New Zealand's (HNZ) KiwiSaver first home deposit subsidy has been available since July 2010. In the 23 months to the end of May this year, 3653 subsidies had been approved and 3440 subsidies worth $11.1 million paid out nationally, a HNZ spokeswoman said this week.
The number of subsidies being paid out was accelerating - 929 in the first year of the scheme and 2511 in the past 11 months.
In Otago and Southland, 603 subsidies had been approved since the scheme began, including 318 in Dunedin, 18 in Queenstown, 28 in Clutha and 148 in Invercargill. No regional figures were available on the number of subsidies paid out in Otago and Southland in that time or their dollar values.
Metro Realty principal Mark Stevens said while his company did not keep statistics on the number of buyers using KiwiSaver, numbers had been growing over the past six months or so.
Most were buying in the $160,000-$200,000 price bracket.
KiwiSaver money and Dunedin's affordable housing market made first home ownership achievable for people in their 20s and 30s, he said.
"For many, KiwiSaver money is definitely the difference between them buying and not buying.
"A lot wouldn't have a deposit without it and would have to wait longer to buy.
"When they find out they can buy a home they are really excited and it is good for them."
It was also good for the market generally, he said, as buyers at the lower end of the market enabled vendors to sell and move up into the next level of housing.
KiwiSaver money was resulting in more first home buyers and multiple offers for many lower-priced Dunedin properties, Dunedin real estate agent Liz Nidd said.
"It's getting on to the bottom rung of the housing ladder that is the difficult thing. KiwiSaver is teaching people to save".
Hunter Stevenson, from KiwiSaver provider Altus Financial Services, said he had recently spoken to one couple who between them had been able to withdraw more than $30,000 towards their first home.
"There's no easy way to save money for a home these days but KiwiSaver ... First home buyers are excited. KiwiSaver is a good news story."
Mortgage broker Glenda French, from Mortgagelink, said KiwiSaver money was great because it "gets people in the door".
"It is amazing how much [money] people can access. It depends on their income, but for some people it is in excess of $20,000."
Damian Kearns, a KiwiSaver specialist with Forsyth Barr, said he and other advisers were receiving an increasing number of inquiries from people wanting to withdraw funds to buy first homes.
Most individuals were withdrawing between $9000 and $20,000, depending on how long and how much they had been contributing to the scheme, and couples potentially twice that.
Using KiwiSaver funds was "a compelling case" for couples, particularly if both also qualified for Housing New Zealand first home subsidies, he said.
Mr Kearns said he expected first home withdrawals to grow as those in KiwiSaver qualified to withdraw funds, had saved enough to make withdrawal worthwhile and/or reached the age when they wanted to buy a home.
Based on the latest statistics from Inland Revenue to the end of last month, about one third of the almost 1.9 million people in KiwiSaver were under 25, he said.
Queenstown real estate agent Kelvin Collins called KiwiSaver "a good initiative".
While his company did not keep specific information on KiwiSaver buyers, his perception was the KiwiSaver market was an "active sector" which had begun to emerge this year.
Although KiwiSaver money had been available for some years, he said Queenstown people might now feel they had saved enough to make withdrawing funds worthwhile.
In addition, there was "more of a perception, or a reality" that house prices had "bottomed out" and now was a good time to buy.
While the cost of buying first homes in Queenstown was higher than in the rest of Otago, so was the cost of renting, Mr Collins said.
"They might buy and have a $400,000 mortgage, but buying is worth it in the long run ... There is an emotional attachment to owning your own home."
First home assistance
- After three years of contributing to KiwiSaver, people can withdraw money to put towards a first home (providing they are in a scheme which allows this option).
- Personal and employer contributions can be withdrawn, but not the Government's $1000 kick-start or tax credits.
- People who have contributed to KiwiSaver for at least three years can also apply for KiwiSaver first home deposit subsidy, administered by - Housing New Zealand. Subsidy of $1000 for each year of contribution available, up to maximum of $5000. Income limits apply.
- Couples buying a first home can each apply to withdraw KiwiSaver funds and for a KiwiSaver first home deposit subsidy, providing each meets criteria.
Source: KiwiSaver website
